THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



107 



pending on the size, depth and capacity. This par- 

 ticular type of pump is used extensively in the irri- 

 gated sections of Texas and is beginning to be used 

 in western Kansas in what is called the deep water 

 sections. 



Regarding the horsepower required to operate 

 centrifugal pumps, the larger the pump the better 

 efficiency. The very small pumps, say with one 

 inch discharge, handling about 25 gallons a minute, 

 cannot be considered as giving better than 30 per 

 cent of the power handled to the pump. The larger 

 type, from 3 to 6 inches discharge, will give from 

 45 to 60 per cent, and the still larger pumps with 

 from 6 to 10 inches discharge, handling from 1,100 

 to 3,000 gallons a minute, will give as high as 75 

 per cent efficiency. 



I would suggest that the purchaser of an irri- 

 gation outfit, referring especially to the engine and 

 pump, should purchase of a reliable, responsible 

 manufacturer who has a known reputation as a firm 

 that is financially able to back its guarantee in 

 every case. I mention this fact for two reasons ; 

 first, because farmers as a rule cannot afford to lose 

 the price of an investment of this kind, and second, 

 that if an installation is put out in a new section of 

 the country, it will be watched very closely by 

 parties interested and if it fails it will give the sub- 

 ject of irrigation in that particular section a black 

 eye for several years. 



In regard to the subject of irrigation, it requires 

 not only the pump, engine and water, but intelligent 

 use of the outfit, together with the water, to get the 

 best results. In territory with which I am per- 

 sonally acquainted, large landowners in developing 

 irrigated land for sale have brought settlers from 

 Canon county, Greeley, and other irrigated sections 

 and have had them produce results with which no 

 farmer not familiar with the handling of water nor 

 an eastern settler could compete. Mr. F. H. Newell, 

 Engineer of the U. S. Reclamation Service, says in 

 a recent article in the Engineering Record that the 

 "real defect lies in the failure to appreciate thor- 

 oughly the deeper lying economic condition, namely, 

 that the ultimate success of the investor and of the 

 engineer and builder of irrigation works is depend- 

 ent, not so much upon the mechanical perfection of 

 the scheme, as upon the way the irrigated lands are 

 handled after the works are done.'' 



Referring to the subject of irrigated lands as a 

 whole, where soil is not rocky or alkali and there 

 is an abundance of water available within pumping 

 depth, such land is a most valuable asset and is 

 recommended as such both by banks and loan corn- 

 panies in the irrigated sections. 



On small tracts in the Arkansas valley in Colo- 

 rado and Kansas one acre has been known to pro- 

 duce from $300 to $500 in crops. These crops of 

 course were of the early vegetables celery, toma- 

 toes, or something of that kind. Some of the large 

 Texas irrigation tracts are now furnishing the cu- 

 cumber, cantaloupe, and a great many of the 

 smaller vegetable seeds for the great seed companies 

 of Detroit, and the production of these seeds is fur- 

 nishing the owners a revenue of from $175 to $250 

 an acre, net. 



In regard to what power to utilize, this is a 

 question which must be decided and determined 



upon by the location of the property. For practical 

 purposes, where pumps can be operated by motors, 

 although at a slightly increased cost per thousand 

 gallons, the motor drive is the best when the plant 

 producing the electricity and the power line is a 

 permanent and substantial improvement and can be 

 depended on. 



By far the cheapest power, and the one that will 

 run the cost per thousand gallons the lowest, is the 

 crude oil engine. This oil can be purchased in tank 

 cars almost anywhere in Nebraska and Kansas at 

 possibly not over 3.1 cents per gallon, and very 

 often \y cents. The cost per acre foot for handling 

 water on the surface of the ground varies under 

 different pumping conditions from 25 cents to $2.25 

 per acre. By this cost we mean simply the cost of 

 operating the engine, the labor and maintenance are 

 not included. 



The smaller item, of course, is where the water 

 is shallow and a fair sized pump is used so as to 

 make the equipment run as economically as pos- 

 sible. Referring to the higher price appliances to 

 irrigation by the Turbine centrifugal pumps where 

 water is brought from about 200 feet below surface, 

 at least one responsible pump manufacturer guar- 

 antees to handle water from that depth for about 

 $2.00 an acre foot. 



If ordinary crops, say alfalfa, will require not 

 over \y 2 feet of water during the season, it is very 

 easy to estimate the cost of operating a pumping 

 plant which would increase the yield of the alfalfa 

 from 3 to 5 tons per acre. 



It is well also to consider the windmill as a 

 factor in irrigation, in which case a small amount, 

 of water is delivered to the surface, usually into' 

 tanks from which water in much larger quantities, 

 say from 200 to 3,400 gallons a minute, is discharged 

 into ditches over the ground. The capacity and dis- 

 discharge of windmill, which is probably not over 

 5 to 15 gallons a minute, would be absolutely wasted 

 if discharged over the land at this rate, but by im- 

 pounding it as mentioned above, in considering the 

 almost constant operation of the windmill or in 

 connection with a battery windmill, good results . 

 have been secured by this method of irrigation. 



In taking up this matter to any extent, it is 

 necessary to figure the cost of getting the water on 

 the land and determining a crop that will bring a 

 fair revenue over and above the labor and expense 

 of pumping the water and making the crop. In 

 many sections of California water is elevated from 

 200 to 600 feet by deep well plunger pumps, but as 

 this water is used on vineyards and citrus crops that 

 are very valuable, the grower can afford to pay $6 

 to $10 an acre foot for water and still make a big 

 profit from his land and labor. The same type of 

 plant installed in Nebraska for irrigating alfalfa and 

 small grains would be a most unprofitable venture. 



It is unquestionable economy to have the situa- 

 tion analyzed before making any investment what- 

 ever. The purchaser does not only know then just 

 what he can do before he starts, but he knows just 

 what it will cost and can compare his information 

 with similar propositions and benefit by the experi- 

 ences of others who have installed similar plants 

 for similar crops under similar conditions. 



